US2195960A - Apparatus for casting metal - Google Patents

Description

April 4 A. w. MORRIS I APPARATUS FOR CASTING METAL Filed Aug. 15, 1934 ATTORNEYS P atented Apr. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR CASTING METAL Albert Wood Morris, Springfield, Mass assignor to Morris Engineering Corporation, a corporation of Rhode Island Application August 15, 1934, Serial No. 739,871

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved appa-' ratus for molding metal and is particularly useful in molding metals having high melting temperatures such as iron and steel as compared 6 with the white or red metals.

I will disclose and describe my invention in connection with an illustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing from which one skilled in the art will then be 10 able to practice in the illustrated as well as in many other specific forms of apparatus accord v 20 Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a modified arrangement.

By way of illustration, the mold l is bolted to ladle 2 and the assembly is pivoted at 3 to be rocked into various positions by counterbalanced :5 operating arm 4.

i The mold indicates the making of flatirons, there being shown three cavities, each of which might take about four pounds of metal apiece. They are connected by gates B, i, and 8 to the so manifold passage 9. The inlet to the latter is shown with its axis passing through pivot point 3 (which is preferably located at or near the line of runner 9) and registering with the outlet ill of ladle 2 in the assembly. as Fig. 2 indicates the ladle with molten metal up to level II and this ladle supply can be most conveniently replenished by pouring through opening i9 from a master supply. The mold i resting on top of ladle 2 is in the position of being up- I 40 side down and the mold cavities are shown empty. To fill the cavities the whole unit of Fig. 2 is turned to the left ninety degrees about so 2 changes from line to dotted line II at right angles to I I. As this happens the metal in the ladle is manipulated to apply a hydraulic head on the metal to fill the mold cavities. At no time during this change of hydraulichead from line a II to line I! can the transition occur except in a gentle uniform manner giving an exceedingly gentle flow of metal through passages 9, 8, l, and 6 into cavities 5.

The manifold or runner passage 9 is preferably of decreasing cross-section as indicated so as to 5 cause metal flow to gate 8, then to I and to 6. The bottom lines of the mold cavities adjacent their gates .are preferably staggered as indicated. The result of these preferred arrangements is that the metal enters and rises in the plurality 10 of mold cavities at substantially the same time.

As soon as the cavities are filled the parts can be turned back to the position of Fig. 2. It takes but a moment to return the parts to the position of Fig. 2. In this position although the metal in the cavities may be higher than the metal level in the ladle, the cavity metal cani not drain back even though it is still liquid since the only outlet is an uphill one through each cavity gate. But the metal in manifold 9 can drain back and it is desirable to have it do so.

It will be clear that the mold can be filled in all its cavities by a, very gentle, uniform, eflicient, and convenient motion about pivot 3 and when filled can be returned to the original position of 26, Fig. 2. .In that position the castings may be left to harden, the mold opened and closed, ladle etal replenished when necessary, all in preparation for the next cycle.

The form of frame support is indicated in Fig. 1 an sawhorse with bearings to receive stub shafts on the ladle. Operating arm 4 is keyed to one, and counterbalancing arm IS with slidable weight i6 is keyed to the other. A hanging hook or bail I3 is pivoted on arm 4 so as to fall under projection l4 to hold the mold and ladle assemblyin dotted line position for easy release as wanted. The mold i is clamped to the cover In Fig.- 2 the lip 20 of theladle is to dip down so i into the metal so'as to shut off the surface below the'outlet i II from the rest of the metal surface-inv the ladle. Th s is a common expedient in pouring ladies to shut ofl part of the dross formed on the ladle metal. The vents I are. of s common form and take impurities, if any, in the ball part which is knocked off the casting.

I am aware that others have filled molds by what is termed bottom pouring. By this is meant that the metal enters the mold and rises from the bottom so as to avoid the splashing of top pouring. Bottom pouring customarily is carried on by gas pressure forcing the molten metal upwardly in the mold. My method and apparatus for many reasons give improvements for getting all bottom pouring results desired in a better way. In casting iron, which expands at about its freezing temperature, the high gas pressure heretofore proposed in bottom pouring pressure casting is not necessary as the pressure of the expansion against the cavity walls will solidify the casting at just the right time without any help from the gas. Its subsequent shrinking will occur in solidified condition when no amount of gas pressure would help condense the metal.

I am aware that ladles have been before attached to molds,. the ladle filled with molten metal, and the assembly turned around to pour the metal into the mold by such action. Patent to Durville 1,189,548, of July 4, 1916, is an example. But in these prior art plansthe casting operation does not occur so as to attain the bottom pouring advantages. They pour or fill the mold from the top, so far as I know them.

Under my invention the flow of the metal from the ladle into the manifold or runner 9 is in the nature of top pouring but the flow of the metal from the manifold 9 to the mold cavities to make the desired castings is a bottom pouring action. Runner 9 is only an intermediate station for the metal on its way to the cavities 5. The gate openings 6, I, and 8 to the cavities are restricted. No matter how rapidly the apparatus is turned the metal cannot flow too rapidly into the cavities or spatter, which is a danger of top pouring. In bottom pouring the metal enters the mold, spreads over the bottom, and gradually rises, like the ocean tide, with advantages long recognized in the casting art. In my method and apparatus I have shown a new and improved way to "bottom" pour. And I also get the advantage of pressure casting insofar as the level I! results in hydraulic pressure against the "pipe line feeding passages to the cavities 5.

The apparatus of Fig. 1 can be arranged in multiple production units in a line and while one mold is waiting for metal to harden another in line with it is under manipulation by the operators. The openings" I9 of the series of ladles are left in a convenient position for replenishing each unit. The mold part of each assembly is mounted as on a bench for most convenient opening and prepara n operations for the next pouring. The mold may be of any type, permanent or metal molds, or sand molds and the like. These things will all be understood without further description of the intended practice of the invention.

In Fig. 3 I have shown-a modified arrangement. A mold 2i with a single cavity (as for a crank shaft) is mounted above ladle 22, with a C- shaped runner passage 23 from ladle to mold cavity. The ladle and mold are connected at or near their ends so that the ladle, nozzle and mold entrance are coupled at 24 for pressure pouring. With this arrangement when the assembly is turned left on pivot point 25, the passage 23 becomes U-shaped. -This causes the metal from the ladle to pressure" pour from the hydraulic head and enter the mold cavity only from the bottom upwardly, rising progressively to fill the cavity. This makes an extremely simple arrangement for bottom pouring by tipping the ladle and mold together.

I claim:

An apparatus for casting comprising a mold and a ladle rotatable in unison about a substantially horizontal axis and a system of gates and runners connecting the cavity of said mold with the interior of said ladle, the assembly being adapted to be swung from an inoperative 35 position where the system of gates and runners is above the metal level in the ladle to an operative position where the metal flows from the ladle into the mold to completely fill the mold cavity, said system of gates and runners having one point higher than all points of the mold cavity in all positions of the mold and ladle where any point of the mold is above the metal level in the ladle, so that the ladle may be tilted from operative to inoperative position before the metal has become solified in some point of the system of gates and runners, thus allowing the metal between the high point of the gate and runner system and the ladle to flow back into the ladle.

ALBERT WOOD MORRIS.

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